Here come the shared spaces

Chief Minister Stanhope has announced release of a review of the walking and cycling network.

“One of the review’s main priorities was to ensure there was equal emphasis on the needs of commuter cyclists, recreational cyclists and pedestrians, including visually and mobility impaired people.

“To that end, among the recommendations is the possibility of converting sections of Bunda Street in the City and Hibberson Street in Gungahlin to ‘shared spaces’ where pedestrians, cyclists and vehicular traffic all mix together in a slow speed environment.

“Shared spaces are common in major cities overseas and one has also been in place for a number of years in the ANU precinct adjacent to the Union Court and Arts Centre.”

Mr Stanhope said the review, commissioned by the ACT Government in 2009 and carried out by local consultancy Cardno Eppell Olsen, also involved a detailed assessment of pedestrian and cycling networks in the Belconnen, Woden and Tuggeranong town centres.

One of the suggestions for Belconnen was the development of Benjamin Way as a potential major pedestrian and cycle connection through the town centre.

For Woden, the recommendations centred on improving cycling and pedestrian connections to different parts of the area while in Tuggeranong it suggested improving footpaths, pedestrian crossings and creating a ‘cycle spine’ along Anketell Street.

The Government has already announced one of the report’s main recommendations of a City cycle loop. This would be made up of a section of shared space on Bunda Street from Genge Street to Akuna Street and also on-road, possibly separated, cycle path from Allara Street to Bunda Street via Parkes Way, Marcus Clarke Street, Rudd Street and Allara Street.

At the moment TAMS appear to be linking to documents from 2004, if we find a link to the new report we’ll put it up. Apparently the recommendations are going to be adopted.

– Investigations need to include a detailed feasibility study of these opportunities, impacts on other modes and operation in these locations, cost effectiveness, detailed costing, further consultation with adjacent stakeholders to develop detailed and staged program of works.

– Access to Parliament House for commuter cyclists is an issue that has been raised a number of times through the community and stakeholder consultation processes. Presently access is provided via a number of on-road or off-road routes of varying standards, ranging from unsealed off-road paths to low speed streets with no formal on-road facilities. Preliminary investigations on potential improvements to access routes have been undertaken, however these will need to be further investigated with the NCA and security authorities. It is recommended that this work be undertaken outside the Infrastructure Priority Works program and the project incorporated into the program once the scope has been finalised.

– The lighting of Sullivans Creek Path should be considered a trial project to assess the effects of lighting off-road paths. Detailed information on cyclist and walker numbers, behavioural observations and crash statistics should be collected before and after the project is implemented and the results evaluated. If the trial is considered a success, other off-road paths should be considered for lighting as part of the next infrastructure priority review.

Woo hoo. 100% support for the Hibberson Street Gungahlin solution. More than three years I’ve been pushing this idea.
That’s two different consultancies, each costing a lot of money, have both come up with the same recommendation that we gave the ACT Government for free.
So will they fund it in this upcoming budget?

Surely the issue with funding is the work that will be required to reconfigure the roads to divert through traffic around G-town smoothly (i.e. avoid the four lanes to a tiny roundabout debacle). That said, am also keen to see a shared zone…along with publicity on how cars have less right of way in one. I remember when the ANU one first went in. I don’t remember much sharing at all.

Terrible idea, Motor vehicles need their own road. Imagine the frustration of people just casually strolling in front of your car and you are watching the engine slowly overheat…

Sharing spaces with cyclists when on foot sucks too, if I had a dollar for every time a speeding byciclist fails to ring their bell coming up behind me and they smash into my backside toppling us both. Oh man the next time that happens in Civic I am going to smash the bike over the cylists head.

Indeed Puggy – the extension of the Valley Ave through to Gundaroo Drv will be critical to this working, so would need to be funded at the same time. It would also solve the chronic traffic problem around Burgmann School.

… if I had a dollar for every time a speeding byciclist fails to ring their bell coming up behind me and they smash into my backside toppling us both. Oh man the next time that happens in Civic I am going to smash the bike over the cylists head.

Exactly how many times has this happened to you? How many dollars are you due? I wager it is not enough to buy a coffee. Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps you are just the unluckiest bike-attacting magnet there is. If so I suggest that you buy and wear a helmet.

It would also solve the chronic traffic problem around Burgmann School.

I ride bast Burgmann on most days (when not waiting for bike parts) and although I understand why there is a bit of traffic, I don’t see why every parent has to walk their child right to the door after parking their hulking SUV on the bike path. I don’t see why a seven year old can’t cross a street, at a traffic light controlled crossing, by themselves.

As for cyclists down Hibberson in a shared zone, do like the Dutchies and mark an obvious cycle lane, probably with speed limits (but as if road cyclists would care about speed limits).

I don’t see why every parent has to walk their child right to the door after parking their hulking SUV on the bike path. I don’t see why a seven year old can’t cross a street, at a traffic light controlled crossing, by themselves.

My 6yo still tries to convince me to walk her to class every morning. If I ever do drive to school, I park a bit further away and walk her to the crossing.

I wonder every morning how many of the parents dropping off their kids by car (and insisting on parking no further than 3 metres away from the school gate) live within easy walking/cycling distance from the school. We ride our bikes to school, then I ride back home alone and get in the car if I’m driving to work. It takes me an extra 10 minutes maybe but I don’t get frustrated by the hectic traffic around the school and I don’t contribute to it.

Sorry, that was completely off topic but I get very frustrated by the kind of parents you described there!

As regular cycling user of the ANU shared zone I am pessimistic about ho well motorists are going to take notice of this one considering they have huge electronic signs at the ANU one which are largely ignored (I was actually surprised when I saw someone doing the limit of 10km an hour there).

But I hope this review addresses some of the problems in Canberra cycling “network” such as the lack of connection between on and off road routes the lack of defined cycle paths in built up areas (even where there is lots of room pedestrians still want to use all of it) and the indirectness of the main cycle routes.

Maybe making Bunda St one-way rather than a shared zone could work better. As a one way street there would be plenty of room for on-road cycle lanes and there could be rear/nose to kerb parking to create a few more city parking spaces. Pedestrians could still have the 2 pedestrian crossings and traffic lights to cross at. If pedestrians can’t manage to cross with that then I guess Darwinism would come into play.

needs chicanes, more (LOTS MORE) 10km speed signs, a different road colour etc. (perhaps similar to the bus zone at alinga/mort/east row)

Without these people are just going to speed through at 40km/hr (just like they do on childers street).

Childers Street did work very nicely. Unfortunately it seems they may have removed the two choke points to aid the haul traffic while the new student accommodation is being built. So it is now back to being a standard 60kph street.

What I cannot get over however is the apparent need to re-do so many Gunghalin roads! They didn’t have to re-do the roads in Tuggeranong. Roads are expensive, having to do them twice is extortionate.

It’s because of short-sighted planning. All other town centres have substantial roads that run adjacent to them. Gungahlin doesn’t as some knob decided that Flemington should run right into Hibberson (as I understand, this wasn’t the original plan). Anthony Rolfe and Valley Avenue are meant to fulfil the “by-pass” function but aren’t that easy to get onto when heading north into Gungahlin.

We’re lucky they even completed Flemington, but as has been suggested, the only reason that was completed quickly was so that they could sell the land fronting it. And what do you know, a few months after completetion, construction of new four storey apartments (on mixed-use zoned land no less) has already begun.